God Save the Queen
by jessicaisfabulous
Summary: When their senior year of school begins, Dave and Kurt are both on the edge of depression for very different reasons. Together, and with Santana's help, they start to find themselves again and rejoin life outside of their own little worlds. Kurtofsky.
1. Chapter 1

_Dave_

The summer came and went without so much as a warning to David Karofsky. It seemed his days slipped seamlessly into each other until they resembled a blurry mess of video games and sleep. After the prom debacle, he had withdrawn from most of his friends, and while they definitely noticed his disappearance, no one but Azimio had seemed concerned.

"_Man, what the fuck is up with you?"_

_Dave blinked stupidly and refocused his gaze on the television._

"_I don't know what you're talking about," he murmured, gripping his controller tightly._

_Azimio rolled his eyes before turning to face Dave._

"_This. You know exactly what I'm talking bout. You been all moody, like some little bitch lately. The fuck is up?"_

_Dave inhaled sharply and clenched his fist. _

"_It's none of your goddamn business."_

And that was the end of that.

He almost avoided Azimio completely after that, spare for summer football practice. He couldn't really explain himself to anyone; he himself didn't even know why the monotony of summer had disturbed him so. Now it was verging on September, and classes were just a day away from starting.

Dave had never looked forward to school so much. He didn't miss the classes, or his so called friends… he just assumed it would keep him away from his parents who couldn't spend half an hour without asking him if he felt alright. And he missed football. The only thing he had enjoyed this season was the two weeks he had just spent training for the next season, and they were finally _good. _

Maybe Beiste was right; the best thing the team could do for their performance would be to get along. There certainly hadn't been any more fights between himself and the glee club. He was sure he couldn't exactly call them friends, but his involvement in the Bully Whips was more than enough to ease the tension, especially between him and Finn. When he had recognized that Kurt felt safe enough to walk down the hall with Dave by his side, he decided he could consider him a decent guy. After all, Kurt had the best judgment, or so he would tell you.

Oh, Kurt. That was another thing on the list of his reasons school was better than his house. School had Kurt. And Kurt had… well, everything that Dave could ever want in someone. He also knew that Kurt had Blaine. _Blaine, _handsome, talented, perfect Blaine. He knew Kurt was crazy over the guy, but he kind of made Dave want to throw up. He knew it was ridiculous to hate him for no reason other than that his boyfriend was the guy he himself masturbated to every night, but he was everything Dave knew he would never be.

Dave would never be the guy that swept Kurt off his feet. Dave would never be the one to make him smile and not cry. Dave would never be thin and handsome and chiseled. He would always be the lumbering jock in the background of Kurt's life. He had done too many things to deserve any more from him.

_Kurt_

Curled up tightly in his boyfriend's firm arms, Kurt sighed. There was no other feeling he had ever experienced that could compare to this. Just _this._ No kissing, or tender touches in uncharted territories… just lying together and breathing. Knowing that they were together, and it was as if that was the only thing that mattered. Blaine's breath tickled the back of his neck and he turned to face him, admiring the beautiful lines of his face.

"Why hello there," he breathed.

Blaine's eyes fluttered open, gazing at Kurt with a kind of lost wonder.

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

Kurt did know that. Blaine had spent almost every day of the past three months whispering the word in his ear, across his skin and to his lips. And it very nearly felt like heaven. They spent all of their time wrapped up in each other, keeping out the outside world. In their little cocoon, everything was perfect. And that's exactly why Kurt was dreading the coming of school.

With school, there would be other friends to visit, and other things to do besides nibble on an adorable earlobe. He knew well that they worked best together, when they were a team. At Dalton, they were attached at the hip, even when they weren't together. Their magic had strengthened during the summer because they were finally stuck like glue again. Though they had to fight tooth and nail with Burt to get approved, Blaine had been staying anywhere from three to four days every week. When they weren't there, they met at the Lima Bean and then go to the park and kiss lazily under the sky. No one was between them there, and Burt consented to allow them hours in Kurt's room alone, provided the door was open a few inches. Now Kurt was honestly a little scared for all of that to end.

In just a few hours, he knew Blaine would drive home to Dalton, where they would be separate yet again. He couldn't remember the last time they had been apart for more than a few hours, and he was beginning to wonder if that had been a good idea. The idea of being away from his boyfriend sent a funny feeling to the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure he would be able to handle it. Especially when competition season came. Not a single fiber of his being wanted to compete against the love of his life, or the friends he had made just a few months ago.

"When we go back to school…" Kurt trailed off, whispering to Blaine in the silence of his bedroom. "Will everything be the same?"

Much to his surprise, Blaine chuckled and kissed the tip of his nose. "Of course it will be, I love you."

"But," Kurt bit his lip. "What if being separated tears us apart? I've gotten so used to having you here with me all of the time… I don't know if I can live without that."

Blaine's eyes smiled. "Well, if we're meant to be, then we're meant to be and nothing will keep us apart."

"Do you think we're meant to be?" Kurt's voice was small.

"Absolutely."

_Dave_

"Sit down."

His father's voice was commanding, but kind. Dave knew this was going to be one of those _listen until I'm done _talks, of some sort of serious nature. He wasn't looking forward to it. Yet, he complied and sat in front of his father at the breakfast table.

Paul Karofsky was staring at his son, almost sizing him up. Dave felt nervous under his glance, wishing he was back in his room preparing for the day ahead, or better, already there.

"You didn't have a very good year last year, David."

_Oh._ So it was going to be that talk.

"I'm very proud of your for standing up and taking control of your mistakes by being a member of that Bully Whips club, but that isn't going to be enough to make up for what you did. Do you understand that?"

Dave did know. It wasn't as if he didn't tell himself that every day. He nodded.

"What can I do?"

His father steadied his gaze, scrunching up his eyebrows in thought. There wasn't a lot Dave could imagine would make up for anything that he had done, to Kurt or anyone else, but he would take whatever kind of redemption was offered to him.

"I want you to spend your time better this year. You can keep football, I know that helps you a lot, but I don't want you spending all of your time with those guys. You're worth more than them in a lot of ways, Dave. You faced up to your mistakes… those guys?" Paul leaned back, shaking his head. "They may never learn that what they're doing is wrong. I don't want them to influence you back into their mindset, okay?"

Dave nodded. There was no way that would happen. He had decided for himself after what they did to Kurt… he couldn't do that to anyone. Not anymore. Not since he learned how wonderful and beautiful Kurt could be when he smiled.

"I'm not going to insult you by asking you not to bully anyone. You know by now how wrong it is, and I'd like to think it's not something you would consider doing again. But, maybe I could convince you to pick up a new hobby and hang out with a few new people. Is that something you think you could do?"

Again, Dave nodded. There was nothing else he could do, nothing he could say. All of these were things Dave had thought nights over about, wishing he could take back everything and planning how to make himself better. Better for Kurt.

When he saw his son's silence, Paul started to become a little concerned. He certainly had not missed the numerous days and nights Dave spent without speaking to them or leaving the house.

"Why don't you see that girl, Santana, again? You went out together for a while, didn't you?"

Dave groaned internally. He hated lying, but for now he considered it necessary to the strength of his mental health.

"Yeah, but I, uh, haven't talked to her much since prom."

"Then isn't this the perfect time?" Paul prompted. "School's starting back up, you could at least go out as friends. She seemed like a nice girl, good for you."

Dave shrugged. "We got along, I guess. I'll probably talk to her at school today. See if she wants to hang out."

His dad was right in one sense, Santana _was _good for him. Even if it wasn't in the way he thought she was. She was the reason he finally had something resembling amiable acquaintances with Kurt, and the reason that a very large percentage of the school actually liked him instead of just being afraid of him.

She should've won queen. He knew that, and he knew that part of the reason they didn't speak anymore was because he unintentionally showed her up. If Kurt hadn't been elected, maybe it would have been her. He didn't know, but he did know that on the list of people that would willingly listen to him complain about his life, she was number one. She didn't just sit back and listen, she forced the truth out of him, something that no one else in his life had ever been able to do. He knew he had to talk to her.

Dave breathed a sigh of relief when his father got up from the chair and patted him on his back, signaling that their chat was over. It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dave_

"What's up, meat muffin?"

_Meat muffin_? Dave shook his head and leaned against the locker adjacent to Santana's. He told himself and his dad that he would do this, but he was still nervous. Santana had a tendency to do that to people.

"I think… I think we should keep the dating this up this year."

He saw her eyes draw tighter, considering his offer. Most of his plans for this year now rested on her answer, and he shivered as she put on a blank face.

"Why? You already won king, and the school officially thinks your straight now. So why now?"

He sighed. The truth of it was that a lot of it had to do with his dad. He really, really didn't want to disappoint him considering how thoughtful and understanding he hand been the year before. If seeing Santana around the house a bit more would make him happy, then Dave would do that. There were also other reasons Dave wasn't so proud of. His miserable life was only punctuated by his complete adoration of Kurt Hummel. If Santana was his closest link to the boy in question, then he would take it. And he would take whatever Kurt would give him, even if it was just a walk to class every day.

"Well, don't you want to date Brittany without anyone freaking out?"

"That has nothing to do with you, though, Karofsky."

"Look…" he started, staring her down. "Maybe I just need someone to talk to about this, okay? And…you're the only person I can talk to."

It was true. Even though he had been forced into their pseudo-relationship the semester before and she had blackmailed him, they had been able to talk about things together that they couldn't talk about with anyone else. They certainly didn't spill every detail, they were still them after all, but whenever looking at Kurt got a little too hard for Dave, she was there.

She shrugged. "I can understand that, but you could always talk to Kurt. I'm not exactly up to being gay best pals with anyone yet."

At the mention of Kurt's name, Dave looked away. Santana certainly noticed.

"This is about him, isn't it?"

"If I can't be with him, I'll settle for keeping him safe." Karofsky admitted sadly, avoiding her eyes. She nodded quietly. She understood… it was the same with Brittany. In fact, Brittany was one of the few reasons she was actually considering his idea. But she would never admit that. Nor would she admit that she actually felt sorry for Karofsky. It wasn't easy to love someone you couldn't have, especially someone who you hurt. She knew how that felt, and if she could do anything about it, she would for him.

"Fine. Get your jacket on. I guess maybe I can start early on prom queen this year."

_Kurt_

The day could not have started worse for Kurt, in his opinion. Finn had woken up late and on one hand, Kurt appreciated the extra time for his hair and skin, but on the other he did _not _appreciate being late on the first day. Burt and Carole had sent a stumbling Finn off with matching worried smiles and Kurt wondered how far it would be into the day before he hit his step brother.

When they arrived, hallways were clear and it was obvious that class was in session. Kurt glared at Finn, who simply shrugged and followed him to their first, shared class. The door was tilted open, and Kurt could already see that this class would be unbearable. There were only two open chairs, right in between Strando and Azimio, who were pointedly ignoring each other. Finn shot Kurt a sympathetic look before stealing the seat next to Azimio. The elderly English teacher glared at both of them as Kurt took the other seat. It wasn't until he sat down that he noticed a flash of red on his right side. Sitting side by side were Karofsky and Santana in full Bully Whips uniform.

He caught Santana's eye and tried to communicate his confusion. She simply smirked and winked in his direction. A moment later he felt a buzz in his pocket.

_**What's up, hummel?**_

_I didn't know the Bully Whips were still on after prom._

_**We're just full of surprises.**_

He eyed her shiftily from around Strando. Other than the recognizable costume and Karofsky by her side, nothing else seemed different about her.

_What is that supposed to mean?_

Before he could answer, Strando caught his eye and made a face. "Stop staring at me, faggot," he whispered.

"As if. You have a mullet," Kurt said, rolling his eyes before returning them to the face of his phone.

_**You'll just have to see ;)**_

"I mean it, homo. Who the hell are you talking to, your boyfriend?"

In fact, he wasn't. Besides being supremely irritated by Strando for simply _existing_, the sting was worse because Blaine hadn't actually texted him since he left the night before. He knew it was too soon to be really worried, but something about it was very unsettling.

However, he took Strando's latest barb in stride, focusing instead on the contents of Santana's message. He couldn't think of one single thing that could mean. Why were the Bully Whips back together? Were Santana and Karofsky picking up the beard act again? He thought they had moved past that, at least. They were up to something, though, and Kurt had a sneaking suspicion it must have all been Santana's idea. Somehow he couldn't imagine Karofsky willingly putting himself out there like that again.

"What, don't have a stupid little quip to shout pack, you queer?" Strando was louder this time, attracting the attention of a couple surrounding students, including Santana and Dave. Feeling eyes on him, Kurt felt attacked and went into defense mode.

"Quip? Do you even know what that means, you neanderthal?"

Strando's hands clenched at his desk, and his lips tightened.

"I'm not fucking retarded, you fag."

"Oh, retarded. We're back to a third grade vocabulary, then?"

Before the dim-witted hockey player could respond, Kurt heard their teacher clear his throat and turned his attention to the front of the room.

"Care to explain what's going on, gentlemen?"

They were both frozen in place, Kurt had only been called out one time before in class and had reacted rather badly. Strando quickly recovered and brushed it off.

"Nothing, sir. Just asking if I could borrow a pencil from Hummel, here."

Mr. Byers raised his eyebrows, as if to ask Kurt if that was really the case. Kurt looked around, but before he could say anything, another voice sounded from Kurt's right.

"It was Strando's fault, Mr. Byers."

The faces in the room moved sequentially, looking around for the voice's source. A trembling Dave Karofsky raised his head, looking Byers square in the face.

"Is that so, Mr. Karofsky?"

He nodded humbly, and Kurt saw Karofsky look in his own direction, with a sad little smile on his face. Kurt couldn't help but return it quickly.

"Strando was being a total prick," Santana cut in, giving the boy in question a sharp glare and the evil eye.

Mr. Byers looked at them all curiously before settling on a now very angry Strando. Kurt could see from his position that the whites of his eyes had gone red and his knuckles were whitening. He shivered. He knew this wouldn't be the end of things.

"Very well then, Strando will be seeing me after class. Thank you for your honesty, kids." He nodded in the general direction of Santana and Karofsky before flashing Kurt an apologetic smile. Kurt could already feel eyes boring into him and class began again. He was certainly going to be their chosen pick for the day.

The rest of class went by slowly for Kurt, who was dodging Strando's gaze the entire time. And here he thought there might actually be a year for him without bullying involved. No, the universe was never that kind to him. When they were finally dismissed, he tried to flee as quickly as possible, before Byers could convince him to stay for Strando's punishment discussion. On his way out the door, Santana signaled him to the side. Good, maybe he would finally get some answers.

"How are you, Santana? To what do I owe this pleasure?"

She smirked in response.

"I'm starting an early campaign for Prom Queen this year. No offense, Hummel, but I think I can pull off a tiara better than you."

Kurt nodded. It made sense, to the outside observer, but Kurt couldn't help but sense something was off about this time around.

"So will I be subject to the same, um, _priveleges, _as last semester?"

"Yes, of course, Kurt. What else are the Bully Whips for?"

There was a tiny maniacal twinkle in her eye that only someone who knew her as well as Kurt could identify. He would let the subject rest for now, but she was up to something.


End file.
